Table 3.

Summary of function-type health claims supported by dietary fibre in Australia and New Zealand, Canada, and Europe ^§.

Region	Fibre Type	Claim	Claim Type	Criteria
Australia and New Zealand	Dietary Fibre [23]	Contributes to regular laxation	General level health claim *	■Food meets the general conditions for making a nutrient content claim.
	Beta-glucan [23]	Reduces dietary and biliary cholesterol absorption	General level health claim *	■One or more of the following oat or barley foods: ■Oat bran; or ■Whole grain oats; or ■Whole grain barley; and ■At least 1 g per serving beta-glucan from the abovementioned foods; and ■Indicate that 3 g/day beta glucan is required; and ■The food meets the nutritional criteria of the NPSC [23,33].
Canada	Psyllium fibre [34]	Increased laxation	Function claim	■Food contains ≥3.5 g/serving psyllium fibre; or ■If the food contains <3.5 g/serving psyllium fibre, the claim must indicate 3.5 g/day psyllium fibre promotes laxation or regularity.
	Wheat bran fibre [34]	Increased laxation	Function claim	■Food contains ≥7 g/serving course wheat bran fibre; or ■If the food contains <7 g/serving course wheat bran fibre, the claim must indicate 7 g/day course wheat bran fibre promotes laxation or regularity
	Polysaccharide complex (glucomannan, xanthan gum, sodium alginate) [35]	Lowers postprandial glycemic response	Function claim	■Food contains ≥5 g per serving of stated size and reference amount † of polysaccharide complex; and ■Food contains <15 g total sugars per serving of stated size and reference amount †; or ■Food contains <15 g total sugars per serving of stated size, if the food is a prepackaged meal, supplement, or meal replacement.
Europe	Barley grain fibre [36]	Increased laxation (increased fecal bulk)	Function health claim	■Food contains sufficient barley grain fibre to qualify for a “high in fibre claim” (see Table 1)
	Rye fibre [36]	Normal bowel function	Function health claim	■Food contains sufficient rye fibre to qualify for a “high in fibre claim” (see Table 1)
	Sugar beet fibre [37]	Increased laxation (increased fecal bulk)	Function health claim	■Food contains sufficient sugar beet fibre to qualify for a “high in fibre claim” (see Table 1)
	Wheat bran fibre [36]	Increased laxation (increased fecal bulk)	Function health claim	■Food contains sufficient wheat bran fibre to qualify for a “high in fibre claim” (see Table 1)
	Wheat bran fibre [36]	Laxation (decreased transit time)	Function health claim	■Food contains sufficient wheat bran fibre to qualify for a “high in fibre claim” (see Table 1) ■Information provided to the consumer that 10 g/day wheat bran fibre is required.
	Arabinoxylan produced from wheat endosperm [36]	Lowers postprandial glycemic response	Function health claim	■Food contains at least 8 g of arabinoxylan fibre produced from wheat endosperm per 100 g of available carbohydrates in a quantified portion as part of the meal; and ■Arabinoxylan fibre from wheat endosperm represents 60% arabinoxylan by weight; and ■Information is provided to the consumer that the beneficial effect is obtained by consuming arabinoxylan-rich fibre as part of the meal.
	Beta-glucans from oats and barley [36]	Lowers postprandial glycemic response	Function health claim	■Food which contains at least 4 g of beta-glucans from oats or barley for each 30 g of available carbohydrates in a quantified portion as part of the meal; and ■Information is provided to the consumer that the beneficial effect is obtained by consuming the beta-glucans from oats or barley as part of the meal.
	Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) [36]	Lowers postprandial glycemic response	Function health claim	■Food which contains at least 4 g of HPMC per quantified portion as part of the meal; and ■Information is provided to the consumer that the beneficial effect is obtained by consuming HPMC as part of the meal; and ■Warning of choking for people with swallowing difficulties; and ■Advice on consuming with water to ensure HPMC reaches the stomach.
	Pectins [36]	Lowers postprandial glycemic response	Function health claim	■10 g of pectins per quantified portion; and ■Information is provided to the consumer that the beneficial effect is obtained by consuming 10 g of pectins as part of the meal; and ■Warning of choking for people with swallowing difficulties; and ■Advice on consuming with water to ensure pectins reach the stomach.
	Resistant starch [36]	Lowers postprandial glycemic response	Function health claim	■Food in which digestible starch has been replaced by resistant starch so that the final content of resistant starch is at least 14% of total starch.
	Beta-glucans [36]	Maintains normal blood cholesterol levels	Function health claim	■The claim may be used only for food which contains at least 1 g of beta-glucans from oats, oat bran, barley, barley bran, or from mixtures of these sources per quantified portion; and ■Information is provided to the consumer that the beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of 3 g of beta-glucans from oats, oat bran, barley, barley bran, or from mixtures of these beta-glucans.
	Glucomannan (Konjac mannan) [36]	Maintains normal blood cholesterol levels	Function health claim	■Food provides at least 4 g/day of glucomannan; and ■The claim indicates that the benefit is obtained with 4 g/day of glucomannan; ■Warning of choking for people with swallowing difficulties; and ■Advice on consuming with water to ensure glucomannan reaches the stomach.
	Guar Gum [36]	Maintains normal cholesterol levels	Function health claim	■Food provides at least 10 g/day of guar gum; and ■The claim indicates that the benefit is obtained with 10 g/day of guar gum; and ■Warning of choking for people with swallowing difficulties; and ■Advice on consuming with water to ensure guar gum reaches the stomach.
	Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) [36]	Maintains normal blood cholesterol levels	Function health claim	■Food provides at least 5 g/day of HPMC; and ■The claim indicates that the benefit is obtained with 5 g/day of HPMC; and ■Warning of choking for people with swallowing difficulties; and ■Advice on consuming with water to ensure HMPC reaches the stomach.
	Pectins [36]	Maintains normal blood cholesterol levels	Function health claim	■Food provides at least 6 g/day of pectins; and ■The claim indicates that the benefit is obtained with 6 g/day of pectins; and ■Warning of choking for people with swallowing difficulties; and ■Advice on consuming with water to ensure that pectins reach the stomach.
	Glucomannan (Konjac mannan) [36]	Contributes to weight loss in the context of an energy restricted diet	Function health claim	■Food provides 1 g glucomannan per quantified portion; and ■Information is provided to the consumer that the beneficial effect is obtained with 3 g/day glucomannan in 3 doses of 1 g each that is consumed with 1–2 glasses of water before meals in the context of an energy restricted diet.

Abbreviations: HPMC, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose; NPSC, Nutrient Profiling Scoring Criterion; RACC, reference amount customarily consumed. * Australia and New Zealand: A general level health claim refers to a claim that is not considered a high-level health claim. A high-level health claim refers to a serious disease or biomarker for a serious disease. A serious disease is a disease, disorder, or condition that is generally diagnosed, treated, or managed in consultation with or with supervision by a health care professional [38]. ^† Canada: A reference amount is a regulated serving size that is typically consumed in a single meal event [26]. ^§ Structure/function health claims in the US for conventional foods do not require pre-approval and the US code of the federal registrar does not provide a list of corresponding claims [39].